Jeff Forehand

Head Coach

With over 300 collegiate wins under his belt, Jeff Forehand was named the 15th coach in the history of the storied Lipscomb program in 2007.

Under his direction, the Bisons reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history in 2008 behind an Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament Championship. A major underdog, Lipscomb traveled to Athens, Ga., taking out host Georgia in the opening round before falling to Georgia Tech in round two. That setup a rematch with the Bulldogs and Georgia prevailed in round two ending the Bisons first NCAA Regional.

Forehand’s 2009 club came within one win of back-to-back trips to the NCAA tournament falling in the A-Sun championship game. That season would see another milestone for Forehand’s program as pitcher Rex Brothers would become the second Lipscomb player drafted in the top round of the Major League Baseball draft. Taken as the 34th overall pick in the draft by the Colorado Rockies, the hard-throwing lefty made a quick rise to the majors making his MLB debut June 6th, 2011 with a 96 mph fastball against the San Diego Padres.

Having players drafted is nothing new for Forehand however, as a number of his student-athletes have received the call on draft day. Casey Bond, who plays in the Hollywood feature film Moneyball and John King got the trend started in Forehand’s first season in 2007 as both were selected by the San Francisco Giants. A right-handed pitcher, King was a 17th-round selection, while Bond got the call in the 25th round. Also among the Lipscomb standouts who have been drafted under Forehand are catcher Caleb Joesph, who was drafted in the seventh round by the Baltimore Orioles in 2008, and righty hurler Josh Smith, who was chosen by the Cincinnati Reds in the 21st round in 2010.

With Forehand’s leadership, the Bisons have had seven selections on the A-Sun All-Conference team and over 80 honorees on the league’s All-Academic Team. The Bisons have also placed eight players on the A-Sun All-Freshmen team including Brothers, who was A-Sun Freshman of the Year in 2007.

Prior to taking over the Lipscomb program in 07, Forehand had a highly successful stint across town at Trevecca Nazarene where he led the Trojans to a 211-142-1 in six seasons. At Trevecca, Forehand earned 2004 NAIA Region XI Coach of the year and was twice named TransSouth Conference Coach of the Year in 2004 and 2005. The Trojans also excelled in the classroom as the team grade point average increased a half a point in his tenure.

While at Trevecca, Forehand saw three players have their names called on draft day as Mario Campos (Red Sox, 2001), B.J. Jenkins (San Diego Padres,2004) and Brad Coon (Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, 2005) each were selected.

Before taking over the Trojan’s program, Forehand got his head-coaching start at Nashville’s Goodpasture Christian School where in seven seasons he won three state titles (1995, 1997, 1999). He is also a three-time Tennessee State Coach of the Year honoree winning the award each of those three years. Prior to taking over the Goodpasture program, Forehand served as an assistant coach from 1990-92 under his father, Fred, at Montgomery Bell Academy.

A native of the “Music City”, the former second baseman played college ball at nearby Belmont under coach Dave Whitten graduating in 1989. Forehand also holds a Masters of Education degree from Tennessee State.

A lifelong resident of the city of Nashville, Forehand and his wife, Karen, have two sons, Gant and Brooks.